Doctor Who Vs. Silent Witness, Series 18

The eighteenth season of BBC1's ever-

green crime drama was first broadcast in

early 2015 - Emilia Fox and David Caves

both returned as doctors Nikki Alexander and Jack Hodgson. The Home Office

forensic pathologists were joined at

London's Lyle Centre by Clarissa Mullery

and Dr. Thomas Chamberlain, played by Liz Carr and Richard Lintern.

A repeat run of the ten-part series began

on U&Drama last night - it featured Shaun

Dingwall, and a total of twenty-one Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

Snipers' Nest (UK TX: January 6 & 7)

• Sean Gilder (Clout here; DI Casey in Series 29) was the Sycorax leader in The Christmas Invasion
• Edmond Moulton (Luke here & Falling Angels) was Adam Wicks in The Almost People
• Jayne McKenna (Julia here & A Special Relationship) voiced Audrey Mohinson for Big Finish's Ravagers (2021)
• Ryan Stuart was stuntman on Nightmare in Silver too
• series clapper loader Peter Lowden was a camera assistant on The Time of the Doctor

Falling Angels (UK TX: January 12 & 13)

• Andrew Tiernan (DCI McLeod) was Jim Purcell in Night Terrors
• Steven [William Thomas] Elder [born Lawrence] (Stone) voiced Siy Tarkov for Dalek Empire (2003/4), Commander Farrow for Jubilee, Eric Rawden for Something Inside (2006), Rudolph for Blood on Santa's Claw, Lord Lycaon for I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day and Brightly Shone the Moon That Night (all 2019), and Grand Duke Cosimus/the Mechanic for The Last of the Kaleds (2025)
• Ben Ashmore was also the SFX co-ordinator on thirty-six stories (from The Girl in the Fireplace to The Next Doctor), The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood

Protection (UK TX: January 19 & 20)

• Daniel O'Hara was also director of Under the Lake and Before the Flood
• Lorraine Burroughs (DI Conroy) was Thalina in The Fires of Pompeii
• Micah Balfour (Garvey) was the Co-Pilot in A Christmas Carol, then voiced Yarven for Goth Opera (2024)
• David Sibley (Judge) was Pralix in The Pirate Planet, then voiced Kurt Schalk for Persuasion, the Eminence for The Seeds of War (both 2013), Dark Eyes 2 and Destroy the Infinite, Professor Markus Schriver for Masterplan (all 2014) and Eye of Darkness (2015), Josiah Morton for The Morton Legacy, the Manager for The Dying Room, Vincent Parry for Orr (all 2017), Valerian for Time War 1 (2018), Uther Vargosh for Darker Purposes, Sigmund Freud for Conflict Theory (both 2020), and Henry Wotton for The Master of Dorian Gray (2022)
• Amit [Kaushik] Shah (Dr. Dhillon) was Rahul in The Woman Who Fell to Earth
• for Des McAleer see Series 8
• Ross Adams was also the boom operator on thirteen adventures (from Asylum of the Daleks to Flatline)
• series sound mixer Ronald Bailey was the recordist on Daleks in Manhattan, Evolution of the Daleks, 42 and Utopia

Squaring the Circle (UK TX: January 26 & 27)

• Pippa [Jane] Haywood (Justine) voiced the Prime Minister for Embankment Station (2017), Jaxa for Seizure, Teremon for The War Master 2 (both 2018), and Captain Graff for Genetics of the Daleks (2020)

One of Our Own (UK TX: February 2 & 3)

• Jason Watkins (Hughes) was Webley in Nightmare in Silver, and voiced the Legate of the Caliph for The Destroyer of Delights, the White Guardian for The Chaos Pool (both 2009), and Al Norton for Twenty-Four Doors in December (2023)
• Steven Pacey (CS Haynes) voiced Trevor for The Zygon Who Fell to Earth (2008), then was Narrator of The Secret Invasion (2020) and The Kairos Ring (2021)
• Beth [Jane] Goddard (Trish) was Sister Helena in The Sarah Jane Adventures: Eye of the Gorgon, then voiced Christine Colley for The Sontaran Project (2017), Ludina Braskell for Ravenous 1 (2018), Barton for The Moons of Vulpana, Vella for A Photograph to Remember (both 2019) and Rulers of Earth, Sally/Time Lady for Operation: Hellfire (both 2020), and Allerdyce Benexa/Pangladasha for Ice Heist! (2023)
• for Mark Frost see Series 7

Doctor Who Vs. The Vicar of Dibley

A rerun of BBC1's much-loved comedy series began on U&Gold

last night - in the finest traditions of British TV sitcoms, this Tiger

 Aspect Production presented another iconic ensemble cast, led

by Dawn French as the eponymous parish priest.

Created by Richard Curtis and launched in late 1994, the award-

winning comedy endured for three seasons, over twelve years

and numerous specials - it featured Peter Capaldi, cameos from

Johnny Depp, Kylie Minogue, Sting, Darcy Bussell, Terry Wogan,

Sean Bean, Emma Watson, and a total of twenty-five Doctor Who

cast and crew connections:

• Curtis and Emma Freud were writer and script editor on Vincent and the Doctor too
• James [Edward] Fleet (Hugo) voiced O'Reilley for Max Warp (2008), Geoff Cooper for The Entropy Composition, and Martin Ashcroft/Sir Jack Merrivale for Special Features (both 2010)
• Roger Lloyd Pack (Owen) was John Lumic in Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel
• Dervla Kirwan (Assumpta) was Mercy Hartigan in The Next Doctor, then reprised Miss Quill for Big Finish's Class, and voiced Mrs. Calderwood for Aimed at the Body, Di Wright for The Bookshop at the End of the World, Yost McCormack for Lightspeed, Anne Marie for Interlude, Representative for Echo Chamber, Agatha Fernbridge for Towards Zero, Professor Callis for Castle Hydra, and Kelleher for Effect and Cause (all 2020)
• Minogue played Astrid Peth in Voyage of the Damned
• Clive Mantle (Simon, 1998/99) voiced Oliver Cromwell for The Settling (2006), Narrator of The Coming of the Terraphiles (2010), Tuvold for The Burning Prince (2012), Tillegat/Lieutenant Treeves for Destroy the Infinite (2014), and Chuke for Genetics of the Daleks (2020)
• Richard [Crispin] Armitage (Harry, 2006/07) was cast as President Rassilon for Time War 4 (2021), War Room 1 (2022), Goth Opera (2024) and Loyalties (2026)
• [Clara Julia] Keeley Hawes (Rosie) was Ms. Delphox in Time Heist
• Edward [Harry] Kelsey (Harris) was the Slave Buyer in (episode 2 of) The Romans, Resno in The Power of the Daleks, and Edu in The Creature from the Pit
• Charles Pemberton (Vet) was a Cyberman in Tomb of the Cybermen, and Technician in The War Games
• [Reginald Herbert] Preston Lockwood (Pottle) was Dojjen in Snakedance
• Orla Brady (Aoife) was Tasha Lem in The Time of the Doctor
• Nina [Minoo] Wadia (Miss Carr) and Annette [Ross Mcleod] Crosbie (Mavis) both starred in The Eleventh Hour, as Dr. Ramsden and Mrs. Angelo - Wadia also voiced Deepa for State of Bliss (2019), and Mimi for Here Lies Drax (2022)
• Hugh [Richard] Bonneville [Williams] (Ogilvy) was Captain Henry Avery in The Curse of the Black Spot and A Good Man Goes to War, and voiced Tsar Nicholas I for The Angel of Scutari (2009)
• Charlotte Palmer (Fan) voiced Dr. Cain for Death Comes to Time, then Sodalis for Dead or Alive (2025)
• Moray [Robin Phillip Adrian] Watson (Stranger) was Sir Robert Muir in Black Orchid
• Maureen [Diane] Lipman (Alicia) was the Wire in The Idiot's Lantern
• Peter Cartwright (Undertaker) was Arnold Underwood in The Power of Three
• Stewart Wright (Newsreader) was Alan in The Lie of the Land
• Richard Cant (Choir) was Malcolm Wainwright in Blink
• Leslie Pearson (Pianist) provided organ music for The Deadly Assassin (1)
• Jim Dowdall (stunt co-ordinator) was a Guerilla in Day of the Daleks, Guard in Genesis of the Daleks, and Warnsman in Frontios (1)
• Tina Maskell was also a stunt performer on Boom Town and The Runaway Bride

Doctor Who Vs. Agatha and the Truth of Murder

In December 1926, Agatha

Christie went missing for eleven

days. The circumstances

surrounding her disapperance

have never been revealed. This

film imagines what might have

happened...

This channel 5 thriller is another
fictionalised account of Christie's unexplained vanishing. It is revealed

that Christie (portrayed here by Ruth

Bradley) staged her disappearance

and evaded the ensuing nationwide hunt to investigate the real-life unsolved murder of Florence

Nightingale Shore (goddaughter of the Crimean war nurse) who was bludgeoned to death on a Sussex

bound train in 1920. The Queen of Crime (1890-1976) had writer's block

and posed here as Mary Westmacott, her later pen-name.

The thriller spawned two sequels for 5 - The Curse of Ishtar (in 2019), and

The Midnight Murders (2020). The channel later broadcast documentaries

Inside the Mind of Agatha Christie and Agatha Christie's England.

First shown at Christmas 2018 (then rerun on Boxing Day and New Year's

Day 2019) the film was repeated on U&Drama today - it featured Ralph

Ineson, Dean Andrews, Michael McElhatton, and these six Doctor Who

cast connections: 

• Tim McInnerny (Randolph here; Rev. Clement in The Murder at the Vicarage, 2004) was Klineman Halpen in Planet of the Ood, and voiced Admiral Dolne for Big Finish's The Well-Mannered War (2015), and the eponymous role for Puccini and the Doctor (2024)
• Pippa Haywood (Mabel here; Mrs. Price in Ordeal by Innocence, 2007; Mrs. Upjohn in Cat Among the Pigeons, 2008) voiced the Prime Minister for Seed of Chaos and The Destructive Quality of Life (both 2017), Jaxa for Seizure, Teremon for The War Master 2 (both 2018), and Captain Graff for Genetics of the Daleks (2020)
• Blake Harrison (Travis here & Agatha and the Midnight Murders) voiced Lieutenant Daniel Hopkins for The Helliax Rift, Hour of the Cybermen and Warlock's Cross (all 2018), then starred in Village of the Angels as Namaca Ost Parvess Po
• Brian McCardie (Persimmion here; Gould in Ordeal by Innocence, 2018) voiced Alan Weir for Masters of Earth (2014)
• Samantha Spiro (Pamela) was Hazran in The Doctor Falls
• Joshua Silver (Franklin) voiced Charlie Nisbett for The Romance of Crime (2015)

Doctor Who Vs. Cinderella

Disney Picture's live-action reworking

of their animated classic of 1950 was

shown on BBC1 tonight.

Lily James depicted the eponymous

folk heroine Ella, Cate Blanchett was

her wicked stepmother, Helena Bonham

Carter was the Fairy Godmother, and Richard Madden was the Prince.

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, the film

was released in 2015 - it also featured

Derek Jacobi, Alex Macqueen,

Stellan Skarsgard, Holliday Grainger,

and twelve other Doctor Who cast

connections:

• Nonso Anozie (Captain) was Hydroflax in The Husbands of River Song
• Hayley [Elizabeth] Atwell (Mother) voiced Asha for Blood of the Daleks (2007), Eleanor for The Doomwood Curse (2008), Seksa for The Whispering Forest (2010), and President Sheridan Moorkurk for The Sands of Life and War Against the Laan (both 2013)
• Mimi Ndiweni (Lady) was Abby in Oxygen, and voiced Ronnie Brockman for Big Dig (2013), Alicia Dowan/Secretary for Subterfuge (2019), and Other River for The Two Rivers (2022)
• Tom Edden (Footman) was Pharmacist in Gridlock
• Joseph Kloska (Assistant) voiced the Perfect One for The Masters of Luxor, Dukhin for The Acheron Pulse (both 2012), King Henry IV/Sir Robert de Wensley/Adam/Tom Chaucer for The Doctor's Tale (2014), Habrild for Order of the Daleks (2016), Schandel for Pretty Lies (2017), Morris/Centurion for The Iron Legion, Neville Plumstead/ Bobby Harrris/the Creature for The Ghosts of Greenwich (both 2019), Pilot Finlay for Genetics of the Daleks (2020), Ivo Hislop Cannon for Long Shot (2021), Tannus Vallon/ Suit for Chronomancer, Ludwig Von Husseldorf for Lay Down Your Arms (both 2022), and Corg for Dominant Species (2024)
• Ella Smith (Lady) voiced the titular role for The Wrath of Medusa (2022)
• Adetomiwa Edun (Trooper) was Brock in The Return of Doctor Mysterio
• Michael Jenn (Doctor) was Clarence DeMarco in The Name of the Doctor
• Josh O'Connor (Guard) was Piotr in Cold War 
• Gerald Horan (Vaneering) was Mr. Clark/Father of Mine in Human Nature and The Family of Blood 
• Bentley Kalu (Rider) was Hood in The Angels Take Manhattan
• Ryan Stuart was a stuntman on Nightmare in Silver too

Doctor Who Vs. Chimera

Stephen Gallagher's sci-fi

thriller (published in 1982) was

adapted for Radio 4 in 1984,

followed by this Anglia Television

 version, broadcast in July 1991.

A rare repeat run of the four-

part drama (shown in America

as the TV movie, Monkey Boy)

concluded on Forces TV last

night - it featured John Lynch,

David Calder, and fifteen Doctor

Who cast and crew connections:

• Kenneth Cranham (Hennessey) voiced Tom Cardwell for Big Finish's Blood of the Daleks (2007)
• Christine [Mary] Kavanagh (Alison) was Aram in Timelash, and voiced Patience for Cold Fusion (2016), Dora Muse for Muse of Fire (2018), and Magog and Juno for The Iron Legion (2019) 
• George Costigan (Schaffer) was Max Capricorn in Voyage of the Damned
• Pip [Dean] Torrens (Windeler) was Headmaster Rocastle in Human Nature and The Family of Blood, then voiced Charlie Gibbs for Eldrad Must Die! (2013)
• Fred Pearson (Stonehill) was the Barista in The Bells of Saint John
• Pippa Haywood (Diane) voiced the Prime Minister for Seed of Chaos and The Destructive Quality of Life (both 2017), Jaxa for Seizure, Teremon for The War Master 2 (both 2018), and Captain Graff for Genetics of the Daleks (2020)
• Bhasker Patel (Doctor) was Jival Chowdry in Turn Left
• Debra Gillett (Julie) was Rita Connolly in The Idiot's Lantern
• Liza Tarbuck (Girl) voiced Captain Kaliko for The Infinite Quest, and Lysette Barclay for Plague of the Daleks (2009)
• Vivien Parry (Manager) voiced Captain Tysus for The Twilight Kingdom (2004)
• Paul [James] O'Grady (Donaldson) made a cameo appearance in The Stolen Earth
• cinematographer Ken Westbury was film cameraman on The Gunfighters, The Abominable Snowmen, Fury from the Deep and The Invasion of Time
• Ken Cumberland was first assistant director on Cold War too
• Gary Bunn (fabricator) was unit co-ordinator on Heaven Sent
• Marc [Raymond] Boyle (stunt adviser) was UNIT Motorcyclist and Prisoner in The Mind of Evil, Kronos in The Time Monster, Exxilon in Death to the Daleks (1), and fight arranger on The Time Warrior

Doctor Who Vs. Without a Clue

"The brains behind Sherlock Holmes

belonged to Dr. Watson, according

to this farce, the shy doctor having

invented the fictitious sleuth as a

front for his own crime detection

skills. As Holmes captured the

public's imagination (depicted in

The Strand magazine), Watson

was forced to hire actor Reginald

Kincaid (played here by Michael

Caine) to impersonate him. How

they fare while investigating a

plot (hatched by Paul Freeman's

Professor Moriarty) to undermine

the British Empire with forged

fivers is the comedy basis for

this mismatched buddy movie. Its lots of fun, despite the hammy

performances, and Ben Kingsley's Watson wipes the floor with

Caine's Holmes." Alan Jones, Radio Times.

Released by Orion in late 1988, the ITC production originally had

the working title The Impostor of Baker Street, then was intended

to be marketed as Sherlock and Me. Shown on Talking Pictures

today, the film also featured Jeffrey Jones (as Lestrade), and a 

dozen Doctor Who cast connections:

• [Peter John] Freeman voiced Jalnik for Big Finish's The Foe from the Future (2012)
• Lysette [Ann Chodzko] Anthony (Leslie) voiced Clara Harris for Assassin in the Limelight (2008), Hazel Bright for Hothouse (2009), and Sophia for The Secret History (2015)
• Harold [Sidney] Innocent (Johnson) was Gilbert M in The Happiness Patrol, and voiced Freeth for The Paradise of Death
• Ivor Roberts (Reporter) was Mogran in Genesis of the Daleks
• James [Rutherford Worsfold] Bree [born Thomson] (Barrister here; Barnicot in The Six Napoleons, 1965; Coroner in The Empty House, 1986) was the Security Chief in The War Games, Nefred in Full Circle, and Keeper of the Matrix in The Ultimate Foe
• Clive Mantle (Thug here; Frankland in The Hounds of Baskerville) voiced Oliver Cromwell for The Settling (2006), Tuvold for The Burning Prince (2012), Tillegat and Lieutenant Treeves for Destroy the Infinite (2014), and Chuke for Genetics of the Daleks (2020)
• John Tordoff (Andrews) was Alec Leeson in (episode 4 of) Colony in Space
• Richard Henry (Hadlers) was a Mentor in Mindwarp
• Chris Webb (Henchman here; Stuntman on The Sign of Four, 1987) was a Monoid in The Ark
• stuntmen Stuart Fell and Terry [Anthony] Walsh both worked on the classic run
• Rocky [Laurie] Taylor (stunts here & A Game of Shadows) was a stuntman on The Idiot's Lantern
• Terry Forrestal (stunts here; Sir Hugo in The Hound of the Baskervilles, 1982) was a Driver in K9 and Company